Rumor Killers: JUly 25th, 2008

By TGRStaff, on July 25th, 2008

Grand Theft Auto Wii?Grand Theft Auto 4 has been and gone, and it was the game everyone hoped it would be. Sales matched expectations on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 by selling millions, and the world had Grand Theft Auto fever for a long while. Since that crazy launch in April, things have since died down, but not for long at least, as rumors are circling that the runaway success that is the Nintendo Wii could be getting its own version of the mega franchise.

The first rumblings come from a French gaming website that claims that a Grand Theft Auto Wii is already in the works and that the game could use the same engine that was used for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on Playstation 2. What’s more, they claim that the game could be revealed next spring ready for a late 2009 release. How Rockstar would incorporate the Wiimote without getting the game banned is another thing, but with over 25 million sold so far, there is a market out there on the Wii crying for another hardcore game.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime recently came out saying he would love a Grand Theft Auto Wii and that relations with Take-Two are excellent at the moment due to the recent announcement of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown for Nintendo DS. Speaking to MTV Reggie said:

“A GTA on the Wii is all based on what Rockstar and Take Two want to do. And again, from our standpoint, if they build a bottoms-up game that takes advantage of what we do well, I’d love to see it on the platform.”

It’s only a matter of time before the world sees Grand Theft Auto on the Wii. How crudely, how violently, and how offensively the Wiimote will be used is beyond us, but be prepared, Grand Theft Auto is going to terrorize the Nintendo Wii.

TGR Verdict: Very Likely

PSP-3000 in the Works?

When Sony released the PSP all those years ago, it was selling like hotcakes, though that started to die down. Things weren’ helped by the glut of new software and publishers not creating original games for the handheld system, but that has started to change as of late: the PSP has had a major sales spike in Japan, the US, and Europe, thanks to such games as God of War and Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core. The UMD format hasn’t taken off exactly for movies as Sony hoped, but it’s still not dead with Sony releasing more movies on the format. With PSP now riding, high surely there isn’t a need for a new model. Right?

Rumors have been circulating this week of a leaked image of what can only be described as a new PSP model called the PSP-3000. Kotaku picked up on some alleged photos of the new PSP from the message boards over at PSPChina.net. What boards over at PSPChina claim is that Sony is already hard at work on the 3000 model and that it will come with a built-in microphone, updated buttons (the old Home button has been changed to the PS button), a few cosmetic changes and possibly, but unlikely, cell phone support. The built-in microphone can be seen in these alleged pictures right next to the volume buttons.

Kotaku posted up more images showing the PSP-3000. It looks incredibly like the PSP-2000, but with certain noticeable cosmetic changes. CVG thought it would be good to get a comment from Sony on these leaked photos, but were greeted with a “no comment.” My better judgment says that these pictures are indeed fake, but looking at them more and more, they do seem more convincing. If there were to be a new PSP model, we probably wouldn’t hear about it until TGS, but don’t get you’re hopes up just yet.

TGR Verdict: Unlikely

Tekken 6 Heading for Xbox 360

Tekken is one of, if not the, most defining fighting game franchise on the Playstation, so it comes to no surprise that when Tekken and ’360’ are said in the same sentence, it’s going to start a huge stir. This time, it’s Namco that has cast doubt over Tekken 6’s exclusivity; as you can see from this magazine image here, Tekken 6 producers Suzaki and Ryuichi were asked by gaming magazine GameEX if the game will be exclusive to the Playstation 3, to which they responded:

“No, it hasn’t been determined yet as of the moment, but we are developing it for the Playstation 3 so you can play it.”

When asked if that means it will be available on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, they responded:

“As of this moment, we have no idea.”

This generation, Namco has been great supporters of the Xbox 360 with games such as Ace Combat 6, Eternal Sonata and Tales of Vesperia. With Soul Calibur 4 just a week away from release and Namco releasing multiple Xbox Live Arcade games including the Arcade-exclusive remake of the original Soul Calibur, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Tekken 6 does go multiplatform.

In the same interview, they stated that the game will be coming out this Christmas, so if there were to be a Tekken 6 Xbox 360 and it was to be coming out at the same time, they would need to announce it pretty soon. I think the Soul Calibur 4 sales figures will be an indication if Tekken 6 makes its way to 360: if the 360 version manages to outsell or be on par with the PS3 version, then you very well see Tekken on 360. TGR will get to the bottom of this one by getting in contact with Namco, but until then…